Interview with Alex Ballar

ED- We are very pleased to present one of films finest, Alex Ballar, to our readers in this issue of The Eerie Digest. Alex, please tell our readers about your start in acting.

AB- I was in college to be a physical therapist and needed a humanities credit and I thought acting would be an easy A. Instead, I quickly found out how much work went into preparing a role. My college teacher was a working Broadway actor. He took acting very serious. I knew if I didn’t put the required 10 hours per monologue 20 hours per scene he demanded, he would know and I would screw up my GPA, so I did. I was then informed of an open call for Bronx Tale by my teacher, who forced me to go. Expecting to be rejected immediately I went, but to my surprise, received multiple callbacks and consideration. I was hooked and wanted more opportunities.

ED- You’ve been in many films such as ‘Just Bad’, ‘Final Payback’, and ‘I Love you, I Love You Not’. Tell us of your experiences in these films and something about each of them.

AB- Just Bad is a short film that I directed, produced and acted in. It was made to shop to investors to find funding to make the feature; a condensed version of what the feature would be. It was tons of fun to make. The cast and crew are all amazing people. Unfortunately, after completing it I was pulled away onto other projects and never shopped it. If anyone wants to check it out they can purchase it at Amazon.com or watch it online.

Final Payback – I played a young Lieutenant who finds the body of the police captain’s wife, played by the amazing John Saxon. It was a great time. I’m originally from NY and it was the first film I did after moving to Los Angeles.

I Love You, I love You Not – was a play that was turned into a film It was directed by Billy Hopkins; a great guy. If you don’t know, he’s a top NY casting director and this was his feature film debut into directing. It was an amazing cast of new actors; many have gone on to great success and stardom, such as Jude Law and Julia Stiles. I played one of Jude’s preppy mean, obnoxious friends and classmate.

ED- You have also been in such familiar television shows such as ‘War Wolves’ and ‘Sasquatch Mountain’. Tell us of your roles in these and something about each show.

AB- War Wolves – was a world premiere for the SciFi channel. I’m part of a group of soldiers who fight something unknown and bring it back to the US. I’m sure you can guess what that is from the name of the film. The film is different than most genre films in it’s approach; it’s more psychological than action. Not to say there isn’t a fair share of that in the film though. It was directed by a great friend of mine, Michael Worth, who I predict, will be a huge director real soon. If you haven’t checked out God’s Ears yet, another movie I worked on with him. I highly suggest you do so.

Sasquatch Mountain – was another world premiere for the SciFi channel. I played a bank robber who kills a cop and gets his in the end. We shot it in Arizona and it was a complete blast. The town was so excited we were there and that we were making a Sasquatch movie. We were all treated like rock stars. It was directed by Steven R. Monroe; another super talented and great guy (he just directed the remake of I Spit on Your Grave that’s set for a theatrical release) and was a huge hit for the SciFi channel.

ED- You are now in the cast of ‘The Resolve’. Please tell us a little about the show, and the part that you play in it.

AB-The Resolve is a webseries that I co-created, produce and write with Russ Cootey. It’s a complex show that explores many themes, like: right and wrong; OCD issues, reality versus perception and many others. I play the therapist to Russ Cootey’s character and struggle with his secrets as well as my own. We have an amazingly talented and generous cast and crew. This show has taught me so many things on and off the screen about humanity. We have shot four episodes so far and recently had our red carpet premiere which was a smash. The show begins airing on March 1st you can see it at theresolveseries.com.

ED- Can you tell us more about the cast and crew for this production and what it took to make it so great?

AB- Two words: talent and commitment. This show is a new venture into the unknown land of webseries and everyone involved so far have been nothing but supportive, energetic and committed. We have been very fortunate. Russ and I feel very blessed when it comes to the talent involved. We have a large cast of very talented working actors. Please check out The Resolve on IMDB.com

ED- You are also an actor that has displayed many talent. We also understand that you performed in such stage productions as ‘Bus Stop’, ‘A Street Car Named Desire’, and ‘The Long Goodbye’. Please tell our readers about this and how it was so different than your film experiences.

AB- Film and Theater are very different. In theater, I get to practice the character in the situation with the other actors, sometimes even a few months, before having to perform. It’s a slower process of discovery and growth. Yes, the performance can be tough, because it’s live, but there’s also a huge thrill to that. Film is fast paced, more about simplicity and is so much more about type. Being on set or in a play is like a mini family. That chemistry, I believe, shows itself on stage or screen.

ED- Give us a glimpse into some of your future projects and where you will be displaying your talents in the next few years.

AB- I have a psychological thriller called Redress that I am currently in talks with a few investors about. I wrote it and hope to play one of the leads. It’s kinda like a Seven meets Frailty. I also have a romantic comedy called: Training Tim that I wrote with the very talented Siri Baruc (also in The Resolve). It has theatrical distribution in place and we’re in talks with A-list actors and directors; we both have strong supporting roles in the film.

ED- Alex, it has been a really great experience to interview an actor with your many talents. I am sure that our readers and fans will enjoy reading about you. We want to thank you so much for this chance to have you on board The Eerie Digest, and will look forward to finding about more about you in the future.

AB- My pleasure. Thank you very much!

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